All That Remains
by Cori Shadowfang
Summary: Even things forgotten are not truly lost...


_So, I was bored…and decided to write this! I'll state this ahead of time: this is NOT a romance fic. That being said, read on._

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He was waiting.

He didn't know how long he'd knelt there, in the graveyard. He didn't know how long it had been since soul and armor both had been abandoned to the dusty remains of that desert. And he wasn't sure he cared. He'd simply stayed there, in that same place, one knee raised and his Keyblade stuck point first into the soft earthen ground. By now, the armor once worn so proudly was breaking apart and rusting over.

Fitting; broken armor for a broken soul.

Just as he didn't know how long he'd been there, he didn't know how long he'd been alone. It didn't matter to him, though. He had nothing left. He was all that remained, and by all rights, he should be alone.

But, as he discovered years after he fell into that position, he would not be alone forever.

He heard a sound he hadn't heard in a very long time break the silence of the grave; footsteps. He did not right himself, nor did he feel any compulsion to. He simply remained in that position, the one he'd held for so long, the soul holding up the fragmenting armor not caring what came.

"Are you lost, too?" a female voice asked from behind him. He didn't bother to turn to look, nor to answer her question. The footsteps came closer. "Why are you here?" she asked, stopping by his side. Again, he remained silent. After a few moments of silence, the girl walked around in front of him and bent down before him. Through his helmet he could see her, black hair and blue eyes, dressed all in black and appearing to be semi-transparent. "Will you answer?" she asked him. As before, he chose not to speak.

After a few moments more of standing before him, the girl walked back to his side. "Can you explain why I'm here?" she asked quietly as she sat down beside him. "I thought…I was supposed to join with Sora when I faded. So why didn't I? Why did I end up here, instead?" When he remained silent once more, she let out a quiet sigh. "You're just empty armor, aren't you?"

The soul inside the armor, for the first time in a long time, decided to correct a mistake. Using all the force of his will, he was able to shake his head no. He heard her gasp of surprise beside him, and decided to try and speak. He wasn't sure he could, after so long in silence, but he managed to get out this:

I am all that remains.

"What?" she asked, sounding extremely confused. "What do you mean?" This time, though, he chose not to answer. The girl sighed, but added something of her own; "I'm Xion." He didn't respond. Slowly, she got up and walked away. He figured that would be the last he'd see of her. He didn't really mind, though. He was all that remained. He was destined to be alone.

He was wrong, though. The girl, Xion, came back. She didn't say much after their first encounter, but that was fine with him. He could sense, though, that she was lonely and confused, without her having to speak any words. Sometimes, she'd sit down, and talk a little about her two best friends, someone named Axel, and another named Roxas. The names were unfamiliar to him, but he never had anything to say in response. So, after a length of pause, she'd stand once more and walk away. In the end, though, she'd always be back.

He didn't understand this girl, or rather, specter of a girl. He realized that she must miss her friends terribly. But was that the only reason she stayed. One day, he decided to break his self - induced silence, asking this question:

What do you have to gain by staying here?

"I can't leave," she replied, seeming somewhat surprised he'd spoken to her. "I want to go back to my friends, but…there's no way out for me." He felt more than saw her slight shrug beside him. "Besides, no one, even forgotten memories, have to be alone." Even though he remained silent, it was not his normal silence. Inside him, he felt the stir of memories, long buried; of two friends, ones he'd never wanted to lose. Ventus…and Aqua. And when Xion stood up to walk away once more, he realized something that he hadn't before.

Her spectral form was fading. She was dying, this time, truly fading.

And for the first time, he felt a stir of pity for her. She would fade, without ever seeing her friends again, and, if he'd assumed correctly, without them ever really remembering her.

He knew what it was like to be forgotten. And he knew what it was like to lose friends.

So he reached out, searching for somewhere across the worlds where this girl could reside. Maybe she could not exist on this plane of existence, but perhaps another…and that's when he found it. A link to a station lost in time. He forced his voice to call her back.

Xion.

The girl, looking surprised, came back to where he knelt. And, for the first time in a long time, he moved. Slowly, his head came up, then his arm, palm facing out.

You do not have to die yet, Xion.

Shimmering in front of his palm, there appeared a light. The light grew stronger, rapidly growing into what appeared to be a portal.

Go. Help your friends. Live another day.

"And you?" she asked him.

Lowering both his arm and his head, he replied with this:

It is not my time to leave. But do me one favor; help my friends, wherever they are. Their names are Ventus and Aqua.

He felt more than saw Xion nod her acceptance. "I will. I'll try to help all of them, wherever they are."

Then go.

With his words, Xion stepped through the portal. The portal he'd opened was to a special Station of Awakening, with designs representing past, present, and future. Truly a station lost to time. And it was there that she'd one day meet the one who would help her aid her friends.

He knew not of this, though, only that now, instead of two specters in the graveyard, there was only one. Once more, it appeared he was all that remained. However, in truth, he now had something else to keep him company.

Hope.


End file.
